What does photography mean to me? April 2022.

What does photography to me? The answer to this question has evolved over the years.

It started off as a creative hobby for self-expression, then competition (because of social media), then back to self-expression, to a business (wedding photography), to documenting daily life, then back to self-expression again. Obviously, you can see the core answer.

Now, every time I pick up my camera, I ask myself:

"what do I want to accomplish with this device"?

And the answer has to be fulfilling. It has to be enough so that I get excited when I think about the photos I'm going to take. I shouldn't have to dread it, ever. It shouldn't feel like work, and the moment it does, I have to ask myself if it's something I want to keep doing.

Like writing, photography is a skill that you have to keep practicing. I've taken photos of all kinds of things - people, food, faces, men, women, shoes, you name it. I've always been drawn to taking photos of people, and maybe it's because of my extroverted nature.

And I still enjoy taking photos of people, but now I mix it up completely with their environment. Especially since lately I've been more into storytelling with photos than just showcasing 1 photo. To me, the environment is just as important as the actual subject.

So, what is photography to me? I'll ask again next month.